Past Honorees

The Senior Hall of Fame represents an elite and unique group of seniors who share many years of commitment to volunteerism and public service. Using their considerable skills, life experiences, and energies, each year’s inductees have worked tirelessly to improve quality of life for people of all ages. They function as role models of caring and selfless dedication, leaving their helping and creative mark on our schools, hospitals and social agencies. They have protected our environment, enriched our cultural life, provided guidance for our young people, and brought hope and meaning to the lives of the lonely, disadvantaged and elderly.

Diane Wilson Goldfarb

Diane Wilson Goldfarb has spent her life so involved in volunteer activities that her son, Jeff, when young, was dismayed she did not get paid for her work.

She set out to be a teacher, but a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis prevented it after her graduation in education from UNM in 1968. That same year she married Donald Goldfarb who encouraged her to become a volunteer.

After leadership roles in two organizations she proceeded in the late 1970’s and 1980’s to become involved in the YWCA where she co-chaired with Sherry Marron the formation of the YWCA’s Woman’s Resource Center. There she became deeply involved with women’s issues/ She also served as President of the Board of Directors. Her impact was so great that she received the YWCA’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Department of Senior Affairs gained her support and assistance in the 1980’s after she and her husband moved her mother in 1978. Asked to be on the Board of what is now Silver Horizons, Diane Wilson Goldfarb accepted. They restructured the Board and continued to develop the Senior Hall of Fame as well as Prime Time Expo.

In the 1980’s and 1990’s she joined in the efforts of Planned Parenthood of New Mexico, serving as President of their Board of Directors for two years. Later she worked for All Faiths Receiving Home. She has been involved consistently with the League of Women Voters.

Jamieson K Deuel CDR, USN (Ret)

Jamieson K. Deuel, a nuclear submariner for 13 years, came to Albuquerque in 1967 for shore duty. He served five years in London where he, as a World Class Wrestling referee-judge, developed a group of 18 year old wrestlers who where featured on BBC. He then represented Great Britain as their international referee-judge in the 1972 Olympics.

After five years in Great Britain he retired and returned to Albuquerque which has remained his home for over 43 years.

In that time he has volunteered in many capacities. He is a MENSA proctor. But four of his achievements stand out:

In 1976, at Paradise Hills, Deuel organized a soccer team, the Panthers, for 12-14 year olds with 19 young people. In three years it grew to the largest New Mexico soccer league with 6000 players in Rio Rancho, Paradise Hills, Taylor Ranch, Corrales and Alameda.

The next year, 1977, Deuel incorporated Deuel and Associates, Inc., the first locally owned engineering company in New Mexico. What began in his spare bedroom now branched into Colorado, Texas, California, Kansas, Illinois, and District of Columbia.

Deuel organized in Albuquerque an international FILA wrestling tournament. For this he was awarded FILA’s Medal of Honor.

Approaching Cibola High School in 1995, after reading an article on the FIRST robotics competition, a month before the $5,000 entry fee was due, Deuel’s fund-raising transformed the lives of students who were able to compete.

Jerry Ortiz y Pino

As a NM State Senator, Jerry Ortiz y Pino has made friends with both Republicans and Democrats in the New Mexico Senate. His sensitivity, compassion and sense of humor have sustained his ability to be a listener and an impassioned speaker in the senate for causes such as opposing the death penalty, progressive taxation and immigrants’ rights.

He has held to his ideals and his convictions, described in his Social Work Professional Oath “to be sensitive to cultural and ethnic diversity and, strive to end discrimination, oppression, poverty and all forms of social injustice.”

What sustains him is the belief that everyone deserves an equal chance, a good education, and quality, affordable healthcare. Former Senator Dede Feldman said that he “sponsored countless measures to improve the lives of those less fortunate – mentally ill patients, prisoners, foster children, grandparents, those without homes, and those without health insurance.”

Bills he presented to the senate early in this career were dismissed, but today stand as mainstream values.

Using his skills as a social worker, administrator, and nonprofit leader, Pino continues to battle injustice in its many guises. He has been a New Mexico Senator since 2005. Prior to that, he worked in social services from Las Cruces to Taos. In each area he honed and contributed his abilities just as he does today.

LaDonna Harris

LaDonna Harris, a Commanche from Oklahoma, transferred her life to Albuquerque, NM in 1975 after her husband, U.S. Senator Fred Harris, ran for U.S. President. Harris is an activist for Tribal America. She developed the Americans for Indian Opportunity Agency, of which she is the current President. The agency catalyzes and facilitates culturally appropriate initiatives for indigenous peoples.

A statesman and national leader, she is an activist for international peace, environmental issues, women’s movement, and civil rights.

She was the first Senator’s wife to testify before a Congressional Committee. She was instrumental in the return of Taos Blue Lake to the people of Taos Pueblo and for the Menominee Tribe to receive federal recognition.

Harris was appointed to the following U.S. Presidential Commissions: National Council on Indian Opportunity; White House Fellows Commission; U.S. Commission on Observance of International Women’s Year; Commission of Mental Health; and represented the United States on the United Nations Education, Science, and Culture Organization (UNESCO).

In 1994, Vice President Gore recognized her in the area of telecommunications during the Tribal Summit. Secretary of Commerce, Ron Brown, appointed her to the Advisory Council on the National Information Infrastructure.

As a national leader, Harris founded the National Women’s Political Caucus. In 1980 as a Vice Presidential nominee for the Citizens Party ticket, she added environmental issues to the campaign. Issues still relevant in Presidential campaigns today.

National Boards on which Harris has served include the Girl Scouts U.S.A. and National Organization of Women.

2014

Barbara Roos Brennan

For her continued support of physically and mentally challenged individuals in the community.! Barbara established a day care center for Handicapped Children in the Washington D.C. area . She continued her committed to the disadvantaged by pursuing grants and participating in fundraisers for the homeless, abused and physically disadvantaged persons in the Albuquerque Community. She presently owns Stride Inc., a business primarily that employs handicapped individuals.!

Nominated by: Alice Myers (Retired Physical Therapist/Community volunteer)

Letters of Support: Jan Keleher, Carla Aragon (TV talent and writer), Dennis Sterosky (CPA)!

Caroline Gaston

For her tireless efforts as an advocate for Children, Youth and Families in our community. Carolyn has brought compassion, enthusiasm, vision and people skills necessary to gain funding and support for multiple programs in New Mexico including New Futures School which became a national model for programs serving pregnant and parenting teens.

Nominated by: Ina Miller

Letters of Support: Carol Robertson Lopez ( Executive Director of NM Children’s foundation), ! Gary King ( Attorney General), Frank Farrow (Director of the Center for the Study of Social Policy)

Ronald T. Montoya

For his dedication, persistence and organizational skills in developing and promoting programs for senior citizens. He was the Director of the first Mayor’s Office of Senior Citizens which became the office of Senior Affairs in 1978. Ron is the reason why thousands of seniors in Albuquerque, and throughout the star are living with a better quality of life. !

Nominated by: Margaret Fehl (owner of Special live in Care), Gino Rinaldi (Cabinet Secretary)!

Letters of Support: Alex Kiska, Ginger Grossetete, John Baca, Mandy Pino, Ray H. Barton

Ellen Ann Lembke Ryan

For her lifelong commitment and role as a philanthropist, leader, mentor, and a volunteer in the community, most notably the Junior League of Albuquerque and Sandia Preparatory School. She has been involved, donated, and organized fundraising for many services including All Faith’s home, New Mexico Symphony, Albuquerque Museum.!

Nominated by: Sheila Ryan Hunter

Letters of Support: B. Steven Albert (Head of School-Sandia Prep), Randy Royster (President and CEO of ABQ Community Foundation), Katie Williams (President-Junior League of ABQ), Karen Abraham (Executive Director of UNM Alumni Association)

2013

Santos and Viola Abeyta

Janice E. Micali, Ph.D.

Ina Miller

Orlando “Orlie” Sedillo

2012

Sid Cutter (Posthumously)

Even though Sid Cutter was a member of a historic New Mexico avionics family, his first balloon ride happened accidentally. In 1971, Sid, his older brother, Bill, and their mother, were in a tethered hot-air balloon at a display. Their mother had already disembarked safely when the tether line came loose. Bill and Sid were suddenly airborne. Neither had any balloon flight training, but between them they managed to land safely. Thus began a lifelong love of hot air ballooning for Sidney Dillon Cutter.

In 1963, after eight years in the U.S. Air Force, Cutter had come home to work in the family business, Cutter Flying Service.

The business had been owned and operated by his parents, Bill and Virginia Dillon Cutter, since 1931. Sid served as President and CEO until 1974 at which time he took his love of ballooning to a higher level by forming the World Balloon Corporation, which he operated for 25 years.

Besides his love of hot air ballooning, Sid Cutter loved to make people smile. Happy was the day that Sid hit upon the idea of sharing his love of ballooning with everyone by founding the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. The Fiesta, started in 1961, today draws just under one million spectators, and, according to the City of Albuquerque, brings into the local economy more than $75 million annually.

Cutters philanthropic practices are just as noteworthy as the Balloon Fiesta. He and his employees had a giving tradition that has helped Salvation Army, Civitan, ARCA, Kiwanis, Rotary, United Blood Services, United Way, Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, Special Olympics, Make-a-Wish Foundation, and many others. Cutter also sponsored more than 100 “Angel Flights” through Cutter Flying Service to fly patients to advanced medical facilities and doctors to remote parts of the state for free medical and dental clinics for the needy.

Art Gardenswartz

Art Gardenswartz’s love for running has provided him a lifelong athletic passion and has enabled him to deliver upon lessons he learned from his parents. Through giving, with no expectation of any return, he became a well-rounded humanitarian.

Gardenswartz received a full athletic scholarship in track to University of Arizona. After graduating from Arizona with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration in 1964, he came back to work in the family’s sporting goods business. In 1976 he started Gardenswartz Sportz, grew it to seven locations before he sold to Big 5 Sporting Goods after 20 years.

He never took his financial successes lightly. In 1976, as a volunteer, Art founded, managed, and competed in the LeRoy Bearman Run, a charitable fundraising event for sports charities. He also sponsored, organized and donated to many charities, but none of his endeavors were as momentous as what he, his father, Harold Gardenswartz and uncle, Sam Gardenswartz, accomplished in 1977. Art’s cousin, and Sam’s son, Ronald Gardenswartz, died tragically at the age of 42. The three men then established the Ronald N. Gardenswartz Jewish Community Center. The JCC was to fulfill one of Ronnie Gardenswartz’s dreams of promoting multi-faith and multi-cultural interaction and education dedicated to fitness and health.

Jane & Doug Swift

A lifelong commitment to community has earned this couple special recognition. While raising six children, Jane and Doug, like many parents, volunteered for youth-oriented organizations, such as PTAs and the Boy Scouts. They didn’t stop there. They found time to serve on the boards of Opera Southwest, New Mexico Ballet Company, Albuquerque Arts Alliance and the Albuquerque Guild of the Santa Fe Opera.

In addition to board service, Jane and Doug volunteered for League of Voters Education Fund, the Albuquerque Urban Enhancement Trust Fund Committee and the Albuquerque Civic Plaza Artwork Planning Committee.

As fellow and former Arts Alliance Board Member, Karen Turner said, “They have always been willing to contribute as financial donors and ticket buyers to concerts, art shows and benefit luncheons/dinners – their hearts are large and generous.” For several years, the Swifts worked on Arts Alive, an annual fundraising event, where the pair did everything from mailing and handing out programs to setting up dance floors and moving pianos. This event was attended by more than 1,500 people each year in addition to 200 or more entertainers and raised thousands of dollars for the Community Foundation Arts and Culture Endowment Fund.

Through the Albuquerque Community Foundation, Jane and Doug have provided financial support to organizations such as the CNM Foundation, New Mexico Museum of Natural History, the National Hispanic Cultural Foundation, Hubbell House Alliance and the VSA Arts New Mexico and many others. They are true donor partners and have been important to The Foundation’s growth and development.

Carol Tucker Trelease

Carol started as a volunteer coordinator-family planning counselor at Planned Parenthood, then worked as education director and clinic director on her way to becoming Executive Director/CEO – a position she held for 18 years. In 1999, Carol was presented with the Margaret Sanger Award which is Planned Parenthood’s highest honor; recognizing leadership, excellence and outstanding contributions to the reproductive health movement.

Her commitment to helping women and families gain access to high-quality, affordable reproductive health care is seemingly tireless. Since retiring, she continues to devote her time and energy to improving communities. Carol gives to the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John, where she has served on the vestry, volunteers as a reader and usher, and works in the pantry and the Cathedral thrift store.

Her commitment to social justice has led to service on the board of the League of Women Voters and participation in the New Mexico Coalition for Choice and Teen Pregnancy Coalition. She works part-time as Executive Director for the Nirvana Manana Institute – a private family foundation supporting nonprofits engaged in family planning efforts, sex education, reproductive rights and teen pregnancy prevention.

While all of her philanthropic work keeps her busy, she recently toured and performed in Eastern Europe as part of the University of New Mexico chorus and is looking forward to singing at Lincoln Center in New York City with the chorus later this year.

2011

Eliseo (Cass) Casillas

Eliseo (Cass) Casillas was totally surprised by the phone call informing him that he had been selected for induction into the Senior Hall of Fame. Those who are acquainted with Cass, however, know that there is no one more deserving. For over 30 years, Cass, even while a member of the media and communications department at UNM, generously shared his expertise with countless worthy causes and non-profit organizations. Originally from Puerto Rico, the Enchanted Island, it was fortuitous for the Land of Enchantment that Cass and his wife Mary chose to live their adult lives here. As a volunteer with the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce he traveled the world, especially to Spain, Mexico and Brazil, to promote commerce and convention between those countries and Albuquerque. Cass has also been committed to preserving the Spanish language and culture in New Mexico never turning down a speaking engagement or activity with young people. Throughout all he has also been dedicated to his church, the First Baptist Church of West Albuquerque. When asked about the most exciting experience of his life he answered, “I was selected by the US Air Force to serve in South America to advise the Chilean Air Force from 1967 to 1971. My family went with me, and we were exposed to the culture of the Chilean people and traveled throughout the country extensively. I was in a semi-diplomatic position with all the advantages and, while there, had the opportunity to record agricultural radio programs for Chilean farmers because of my broadcast experience. It was all just wonderful.” Cass’s personal wisdom: “Serving and helping people has been the guiding force in my life. I have always found it very rewarding because when you help others you help yourself.” At 80 years of age, his civic work continues. His contributions could fill volumes.

Patricia and Frank Jerabek

Patricia and Frank Jerabek, nominated by Virginia Perkins Grant a fellow member with Pat of the Diversity Leadership Council, share a commitment to promoting social justice. Since moving to New Mexico from Massachusetts 16 years ago, they have served a variety of organizations and causes.

Frank became interested in the power and importance of public relations in promoting causes and improving communication while still living in Massachusetts. He has provided such services to his church and more recently to the African American Performing Arts Center. He considers his public relations work promoting the annual Martin Luther King Commemorative Breakfast, sponsored by the Grant Chapel for the past 15 years, among the most significant thing s he has accomplished in his life.

Both Pat and Frank are concerned about the importance of financial literacy in helping people get ahead. For Frank this concern involves helping people during tax season. He volunteers as an AARP tax consultant in several Bernalillo and Sandoval County locations, including four Native American Pueblos. Pat, as an economist, has been instrumental in developing financial

literacy educational programs. However, Pat’s most treasured public service has been the time she spent with the Diversity Leadership Council, working with government, business, education and community organizations. Although much of their community work is done separately, together they are members of the Grant Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, the oldest black church in New Mexico, the proud parents of two adult sons and proud Godparents to three young people whom they met through their church.

Among the most exciting things Frank has ever experienced was witnessing the birth of his second son and realizing his responsibility to contribute to a world in which his children and those of others could grow and thrive. Patricia has been most inspired by seeing the positive change in people she has taught, worked with, and/or cared for throughout her professional and personal work. As she says, “Giving, sharing and service enriches life.”

Allene & Walter Kleweno

Allene and Walter Kleweno, according to their nominator Abigail Eaton of the NM Museum of Natural History Foundation, “have contributed countless hours as volunteers in Albuquerque and the state.” Further, to quote Nancy Johnson of the Albuquerque Community Foundation in her letter of support, “The Klewenos are active community participants. They not only financially support the causes they care about, they are everywhere, actively participating in and enjoying the good work of the nonprofit organizations they support.”

A retired geologist, Walter’s interests have included the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and the Rio Grande Nature Center. Allene has served on the Breast Cancer Core Team of the American Cancer Society, and with the Nancy Floyd Hayworth Foundation, she utilized her skill and knowledge as a librarian to promote breast cancer awareness. As chair of the Library Project Committee, she worked selflessly to place books and materials on breast cancer in libraries throughout the state including the tribal libraries and the three State Library Bookmobiles that travel to the most rural areas of New Mexico.

Both the Klewenos have served as president of the Exxon Mobil Retiree Club. Together they have supported the Albuquerque Community Foundation, New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Opera Southwest, and received the Best Friends Award from Friends of the UNM Art Museum.

They are true patrons of the arts attending 60 -70 performing arts events annually. For Allene and Walter their most exciting life experience was a trip to China in 1985 before the transformation. Among Allene’s most important life achievements was receiving her Masters degree at the University of Denver in her 30s, which led to the career she has loved, working in the city’s Public Libraries.

Through the Klewenos’ giving and involvement they have demonstrated a passion for their community and the organizations and institutions that enrich our lives.

Julia Y. Seligman

Julia Y. Seligman says she is “very pleased” and “just delighted” to have been chosen for induction into the Senior Hall of Fame! In his nomination, Mr. Chuck Lanier, said this about Julia’s worthiness as an inductee: “For more than 60 years Julia has made outstanding contributions to our city and state through her unselfish and results-oriented community service.”

Julia beat the odds when she met her husband Milton Seligman and three days later married him. “My mother met him and said ‘don’t lose him’.” The rest is history. He took her out of New York City and brought her to New Mexico where she flourished having a family and a passion to be involved in the community and work with talented and fantastic people who inspired her to give of her time and her own talent.

Her interests and commitments have been far-ranging and include serving by appointment of the State Supreme Court on the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission, many years of dedication to the founding and operations of the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, the Wheels Transportation Museum, the Rotary Club of Albuquerque, the Gutierrez-Hubbell House Restoration, the Jewish Community Center Board, League of Women Voters, Casa Angelica, the Assistance League, the Arts Alliance, the Salvation Army, All Faiths Receiving Home, National Council of Jewish Women, and the Albuquerque Little Theatre, to name a few.

Julia followed her parents’ example in her dedication to community service. “Following your heart and following your mind and contributing to your community are most important to me.” Her community and business activities did not keep her from giving proper time and attention to raising four children who have also achieved their own successes in community life. Julia still volunteers as a docent at the Albuquerque Museum. She says it keeps her out of trouble!

2010

LaVerne T. Williams Hanks

“It takes a village to raise a child,” and if Albuquerque is such a village, LaVerne Hanks has proven herself as its matriarch. As a teacher and guidance counselor who spent 24 years in the Albuquerque Public School system, Hanks demonstrated her leadership and professionalism in directing youth in short- and long-term education goals. She participated in statewide efforts to close the achievement gap between African American students and non-minorities, and she proved herself as a priceless resource for dozens of community organizations and institutions. Hanks has worked tirelessly to raise money to support scholarship opportunities for economically disadvantaged youth and has engaged students, parents and faith-based organizations to ensure that Albuquerque’s children receive proper attention, solid advice and community support as they pursue educational and career endeavors. Outside of her official associations with sororities, Bible fellowships and various women’s programs, Hanks has made the extra effort to assist in the less publicized ways, such as cooking for elders, assisting ill people requiring care and helping children in need of such necessities as clothing. According to Dr. Harold Bailey, one of several locals who nominated Hanks, not only does she deserve the nomination, but adding her to the list of winners “can only add to the prestige of the Silver Horizons’ Senior Hall of Fame.”

Herman Mauney

Herman Mauney has been described as having “quiet wisdom” but “unwavering passion” through his years of involvement within the Albuquerque community. A man of many hats, Mauney has worked with ARCA as a servant to hundreds of infants, children, adults and seniors with development disabilities; he has worked with Presbyterian Hospital to erect a “playground in the sky” that extends as an open-air balcony from the Children’s Unit on the sixth floor, providing children a place to sit in the sun and breathe fresh air as they are treated for life-threatening diseases; and through philanthropic endeavors across the spectrum Mauney has “inspired ordinary people to join together and accomplish extraordinary tasks,” according to one supporter. After graduating from North Carolina State University with honors in electrical engineering and later finishing his graduate studies in Business Administration at the University of New Mexico, Mauney worked his way up the ranks at Sandia National Laboratories, where he retired as Director of Systems Evaluations after 38 years. Since his retirement, he has volunteered with the New Mexico Museum of Natural History, serving on its foundation board for six years. He has held positions on the national board of the American Cut Glass Association, the Heights Optimist Club of Albuquerque and the Alexis de Tocqueville Society. His community involvement is miles long, and the consensus from his peers paints a glowing portrait of a compassionate and devoted public servant.

Bobbie Nobles

Retired Air Force Officer Bobbie Nobles has been an activist, a supporter, a volunteer and a fund raiser of unmatched dedication to the Asian community. He began working with the Vietnamese community not long after the fall of Saigon when he immersed himself in the culture in Vietnam and served as an advisor to pilots in the Republic of Vietnam Air Force. Nobles has similarly applied himself locally helping hundreds of Vietnam era refugees make new lives in New Mexico. Later he was one of the founders and served as secretary of the Asian American Association, which comprises Albuquerque residents from numerous Asian nations. He has been instrumental in organizing the annual Festival of Asian Cultures event in town, and he helped create the first Asian Heritage Day at the state legislature several years ago. “While his ethnicity may not be of Asian descent, Mr. Nobles embraces the humility and cultural values of the Asian people, and has taken the time to learn about the traditions and customs of each of the individual communities, including their language,” the New Mexico Japanese American Citizens League said in its nomination for Nobles. Nobles’ most recent project was to complete an Asian Cultural Center at the New Mexico State Fairgrounds. And it was through his efforts that the South Vietnamese Commandos who had raided a North Vietnamese POW camp received U.S. military decorations.

Chester French Stewart

Chester French Stewart hasn’t made a lot of noise during his 40-plus years as a business owner, church deacon and philanthropist in Albuquerque, but his contributions, his values and his devotion to the community are always on display as one of this city’s most revered members. Through his associations with the Elks Lodge, Rotary, United Way of New Mexico, the Better Business Bureau and dozens more community organizations, Stewart has exemplified the ethics, values, compassion and leadership embodied in Silver Horizons Hall of Fame nominees. “When the word ‘integrity’ was coined, the author wrote of Chet,” his executive assistant at French Mortuary, Mary Ann Hathaway, said in nominating Stewart for the annual honor. With charitable donations and involvement, Stewart has been a caring leader for the most vulnerable residents of this community, and “his kindness and cheerful spirit are an inspiration to all who know him,” Paul Hopkins wrote. Stewart’s responsibilities have ranged from president of the New Mexico Funeral Service Association to member of the Chamber of Commerce, with involvement in the Kirtland Partnership Committee, the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra and the University of New Mexico, Anderson School of Management Foundation Board in between. For those who have been blessed to know Stewart, it is clear that a more selfless person is difficult to find.

2009

F. Chris Garcia, Ph.D.

F. Chris Garcia, Ph.D. is a business leader and an advocate for many causes in the community. Garcia’s career at the University of New Mexico was highlighted in 2002, when he was named UNM’s 17th President by the university’s Board of Regents. Garcia said he accepted the job reluctantly, and remained the school’s president for one year. That capped a long career at UNM that has included positions as a Professor of Political Science, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Vice President of Academic Affairs and as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.

He also has served on numerous boards, committees and task forces both on and off the UNM campus. Garcia has served on educational and civic groups such as the Albuquerque Goals committee, a City Charter Revision Task Force, the Good Government Group and many others.

Garcia has numerous awards and honors including the Zia Award for Outstanding UNM Alumni in 1997, the American Political Science Association Goodnow Award for Distinguished Service in 2001 and the Chief Manuelito Navajo Nation Award for Meritorious Contributions to Navajo Education. He was honored by UNM Mesa Chicana and the Association for Chicano Students for his educational contributions to the Hispanic Community.

Garcia also has provided commentary and analysis on politics, campaigns and elections for local and national media outlets. Born and raised in Albuquerque – a proud graduate of Valley High School – Garcia said he has been proud to serve not only UNM, but the community and state of New Mexico.

Betty-Mae Hartman

Betty-Mae Hartman has truly made a difference in the lives of many people in New Mexico through her volunteer work with several different programs and organizations.

Helping youth has been her passion. She established a Workshop for the Blind, has served as a Cub Scout leader and a Girl Scout Troop leader. She’s served for two years on the Parent Teacher Advisory council at Monte Vista Elementary and advocated for many years for the establishment of the Career Enrichment Center for APS.

Hartman also has been active in the American Business Women’s Association and with the Albuquerque Sister Cities Program.

Not only has Betty-Mae worked to launch the Sisters Cities Program, but she also has served as president of the organization. She has accompanied Mayor Martin Chavez on several trips to Albuquerque’s sister cities, including visits to Hualien, Taiwan and Sasebo, Japan. At different times, Betty-Mae has visited all eight sister cities and has helped to receive the visits of official delegation to Albuquerque from those cities.

Betty-Mae was born and raised in Albuquerque. She was one of the first class to graduate from the Sandia Girls School, the predecessor to the prestigious Sandia Prep School. Those who have worked with Betty-Mae say she is an exemplary New Mexico native who has given a lot to her state and, at the age of 86, she keeps on giving.

Richard "Dick" Kirschner

Richard “Dick” Kirschner has supported education, the Rio Grande Bosque and the New Mexico legal community. His efforts have not gone without notice and the senior Hall of Fame would like to honor him as well.

Dick chaired the Albuquerque Business Education Compact Literacy Committee and directed the “Read to Me” campaign to involve parents with the education of their young children. He also campaigned for local and national public service announcements to encourage parents to read to their children. Honored by his own college, Dick was elected Western Regional member of the Swarthmore College Alumni Association.

Dick has represented the Bosque Defense Fund in its long-running successful legal fight to prevent exploitation of the bosque. He spearheaded efforts to clean up and restore the bosque after a major fire several years ago.

In addition to representing the Bosque Defense Fund, Dick is a major supporter of the ACLU-New Mexico. He took a leading role in efforts to protect West Side neighborhoods and mitigate traffic problems resulting from large commercial developments there.

For more than 40 years, Dick Kirshner ran a successful management consulting and economic research firm, Kirschner Associates, Inc., which was based in Albuquerque. Even while he ran his company, Dick always found time to volunteer and work towards bettering his community, the city and the state.

Anne E. Nokes

Anne E. Nokes has carved out a unique position in the community as a public servant dedicated to help our most vulnerable people – children and youth. She has been the backbone of many well-known organizations, such as All Faiths Receiving Home. Her work at All Faiths spans all facets of the operation, from reading, entertaining and even changing diapers when she needed to. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do to help out the agency.

Her leadership role has included terms on the Board of Directors, where she has been Board President three times. As a fundraiser, Anne makes countless presentations for United Way and others as an advocate for All Faiths. The organization has awarded Anne with the Life Time Achievement Award for her tireless work for the organization.

Anne hasn’t stopped at All Faiths when it comes to helping children. She also has represented Peanut Butter & Jelly Therapeutic Pre-School, Cuidando Los Ninos, Alta Mira, Children’s Trust Fund of New Mexico, Citizen Review Board for Abused and Neglected Children and the New Mexico Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse, among others.

Because of her drive to be whole heartedly involved in the organizations she serves, Anne has been elected president to many of those agencies and others. New Futures High School provides not only schooling, but support, counseling, case management and social services for pregnant and parenting teens. While devoting much of her public service to children and teens, Anne also is active with United Way of Central New Mexico and in the League of Women Voters as well as the New Mexico Zoological Society.

Kim Perdue Special Achievements Award:

Kim Perdue is one of those rare and exceptional individuals who inspires everyone he comes into contact with. Mr. Perdue began his career with the Department of Senior Affairs in 1976 as the Assistant Supervisor of the Palo Duro Senior Center. Shortly thereafter, he was promoted to Supervisor, and not long after that, was named to the position, Senior Network Coordinator. This new role broadened his scope and his reach in serving older adults. It enabled him to affect the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of older adults throughout the community. After 22 years in this role, Mr. Perdue was again promoted, this time to serve as Director of the Department of Senior Affairs. He retired in 2004 after putting in 30 years of service.

A man with integrity and heart, Mr. Perdue didn’t just “do a job,” he immersed himself in his work on behalf of seniors. Friends and colleagues comment that he would always go above and beyond; he would do what needed to be done and do it gladly. Seniors through the years have appreciated his great attitude, his efforts and his commitment to go the extra mile and make life more enjoyable for all those around him.

In addition to helping open several Albuquerque area senior centers, Mr. Perdue also worked to expand the Senior Olympics program. He continues to support the Senior Olympics as a volunteer. Mr. Perdue has made many friends and has influenced many lives through the course of his service to the DSA. Among his numerous awards and honors, he received the U.S. Administration on Aging “Community Achievement Award” in 1989 and the “Outstanding Achievement of a Professional in the Service of Seniors” award from the New Mexico Conference on Aging in 2002.

Kim Perdue is credited with contributing to making the lives of our area’s older adults richer, more meaningful, and just a little brighter. Mr. Perdue has set a fine example and has truly raised the bar for those who continue on in his footsteps.

2008

Noel Behne

Noel Behne, 71, is the first to say that his life was never the same after he and his wife, Fran, moved to Albuquerque in 1965.

After meeting in Duluth, Minn., where he worked for the General Electric Credit Corporation, the couple married and spent their honeymoon in New Mexico. At the Texas-New Mexico border, on their way back home, Fran tossed part of her wedding flowers back into New Mexico as a symbolic gesture of their desire to return. Four years later, Noel transferred with GE to become a branch manager in Albuquerque.

In 1969, he joined First National Bank, where he stayed for 27 years, retiring as senior vice president when the name was First Security Bank. He returned to banking for an additional seven years, with First Community Bank, retiring last December.

Along the way, Noel has contributed countless hours to the Albuquerque area as a member of nonprofit boards and organizations. He has served on the boards of the St. Joseph Health System, St. Joseph Healthcare Foundation, Albuquerque Rescue Mission, New Heart, Association of Commerce and Industry, New Mexico First, the Better Business Bureau of New Mexico, ARCA, and more.

The Behnes have never regretted their move to New Mexico.

“We’ve always felt Albuquerque was such a great place to live and have received far more than we were able to give back,” he says.

Virginia P. Grant

Virginia P. Grant,62, began her life in Mississippi in a poor sharecropping family, and when she retired, she was vice president and human resources consultant of the Bank of America in Albuquerque.

Along the way, she married and was divorced from Don Perkins, a teenage neighbor who went on to become a star running back for the Dallas Cowboys.

She raised their four children, along with a foster child, and discovered talents for business, organization and leadership, along with a sensitive insight for the benefit of others. She is now married to Uriel Grant and her story continues happily ever after.

Her volunteer work dates to the mid-1980s, when she traveled the university circuit as volunteer producer of “Bound for Canaan,” a play that co-starred her first husband. For years, she has volunteered with AARP, helping prepare income tax returns for seniors, shut-ins and others. She is president of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program and has assisted with the Senior Olympics and health fairs around Albuquerque.

Grant is a counselor with SCORE, offering business advice to people, and she co-authored the “Quick Employment Compliance Guide for Small Businesses in New Mexico.”

A devoted member of Hoffmantown Baptist Church, she was one of the first Albuquerque residents to “adopt” a family displaced by Hurricane Katrina to Albuquerque.

She tells the triumphant story of her life in her autobiography, “Sweet

Journey”.

Ted Martinez

Ted Martinez, 72, had retired after a distinguished career with the University of New Mexico when he decided to volunteer for the Peace Corps, spending two years in Belize. In between, he served as executive director of the New Mexico Board of Educational Finance.

Before he retired, he was just as busy. After earning both a bachelor’s and master’s degree at the University of New Mexico, Martinez devoted his career to education, first as a history teacher at Rio Grande High School, then as an administrator at UNM. Along the way, he served on the Albuquerque Public Schools’ Board of Education and the governing board of TVI (now CNM), including stints as chair of each one.

He also was Albuquerque council president of the League of Latin American Citizens and active in the Albuquerque Economic Forum. He has served on the boards of the UNM Alumni Association, United Way of Greater Albuquerque, Presbyterian Healthcare Services and the TVI Foundation, to name only a few.

Closer to home, he regularly visits longtime friends and colleagues who are ill or now live alone, lending his infectious sense of humor and friendship. Despite all that he contributes to the community he has called home most of his life, he remains devoted to his family and rarely misses a recital or performance of his grandchildren.

Lenore Wolfe

Lenore Wolfe, 92, has spent her long life working to improve the rights of others, following a path set down by her father in Oklahoma. As a college student in New York City, she was a labor organizer, and since the 1960s in New Mexico, she has been one of the state’s foremost advocates for early childhood education.

It was only fitting that she was honored on her 90th birthday with a reception inside the Roundhouse in Santa Fe, where she spent many hours helping to secure funding and establish the standards for public-school kindergarten education. She earned a B.A. and M.A. in elementary education at UNM and subsequently taught children and adults in a variety of capacities.

She established the Head Start program at Laguna Pueblo and helped develop bilingual early childhood education on the Navajo Reservation and throughout the pueblos, which led her to develop a similar program in Nepal. She served on the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education and continues to help develop laws and policies that benefit young children.

Wolfe also was known for her menagerie of birds and reptiles at her home, often a field trip destination for various elementary schools. In her 50s, after her Nepal experience, she began traveling the world; her most recent trip was to Alaska two years ago. In her 70s, she became a docent at the Rio Grande Zoo and, in her 80s, was a docent at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History.

2007

Gail Doherty

Gail A. Doherty, 68, founded the Albuquerque chapter of Project Linus in 1999. Named after the blanket-toting character in the Peanuts comic strip, Project Linus began in Colorado in 1995 and now has chapters in all 50 states. As a non-profit organization, it relies solely on volunteers to complete its mission of providing – through gifts of handmade blankets – warmth, security and comfort to children who are ill, traumatized or facing other needs. Doherty has single-handedly enrolled nearly 350 “blanketeers” in greater Albuquerque who have created more than 14,000 blankets since January 1999. She continues to enroll volunteers.

For Doherty, volunteerism is just a way of life. “I am so blessed with so many things,” she says, adding that helping others is “a responsibility, an obligation and an opportunity.”

She grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. and came to Albuquerque in 1980 when her husband’s military career brought him to Kirkland Air Force Base. She worked as a librarian at St. Pius High School, beginning before it moved from the Northeast Heights to the West Side.

She has volunteered at Presbyte

rian Hospice since 1991 as a way to cope with having family back East that she couldn’t assist. “I fell in love with the entire philosophy of the hospice system and I committed to it,” she says.

Doherty also visits the UNM Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, where she provides warmth and affection when parents are unavailable. After Hurricane Katrina, Doherty also volunteered for the American Red Cross. And she is a Eucharistic Minister and lecturer at her church.

Dr. Vaun and Mary Floyd

Dr. Vaun and Mary Floyd, have committed their time to numerous organizations and charities. Dr. and Mrs. Floyd both graduated from Columbia University in New York City in 1943, where he earned his medical degree and she earned a bachelors degree in nursing.

Since moving to New Mexico in 1958, they have been committed community activists through their leadership, volunteer service, and financial support with various organizations including the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, United Way of Albuquerque, and the Rotary Club.

“I’ve done volunteer work my whole life,” Mary says. “I was brought up to know that you’re supposed to help other people.” They have raised five children and, after losing their oldest daughter, Nancy, to breast cancer in 1989, they directed their efforts, toward raising funds to educate the public on breast cancer. In 1991, the first Nancy Floyd Haworth Memorial Cancer Lectureship Luncheon was held.

“We’re both very oriented toward medicine and education,” Mary says. “It’s important to keep up with medicine and help people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to obtain information or services.” Funds raised through the Floyds’ efforts have been used to provide breast cancer education, free mammography and information on family support systems. The Floyds have also furthered their educational mission by creating the Nancy Floyd Haworth Foundation Breast Cancer Library Project, which provides more than 20 libraries in New Mexico with the latest information on breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and support systems.

Harold R Goff

Harold R. Goff, 98, a former Albuquerque Public Schools teacher and principal who had been president and executive director of the New Mexico Association of Educational Retirees and, for 20 years, chairman of the state Educational Retirement Board.

Retired from APS since the1970s, Goff has continued to champion issues impacting educators, seniors and the local community. Other organizations he has served include the Albuquerque Environmental Planning Commission, Heights Baptist Church, the AARP and the Rotary Club.

After graduating from Albuquerque High in 1927, Goff earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of New Mexico. He earned an additional master’s degree at the University of California at Berkeley.

During his long career with APS, he was a classroom teacher, a guidance teacher and a principal at Bandelier Elementary and the combined Grants Junior High-Los Altos Elementary. Goff encouraged building strong relationships with students and parents alike. Although he left Bandelier Elementary in 1961, the school honored his legacy years later by naming its new gymnasium in his honor.

At 91 , Goff married Ruth Deese after the passing of his first wife; together they have served in church activities that connect home-bound seniors to each other and to their church. Goff has recently had to taper his volunteer work due to health problems. His son, Russell Goff , has followed in his father’s footsteps as an educator and now serves in the New Mexico Retired Teachers Association.

Jo and Victor Izay

Jo and Victor Izay, 73 and 84, have combined their passion for theater with their commitment to education. They’ve also helped organize and promote conventions, including the Gathering of Nations Pow Wow and the Mariachi Spectacular. Victor, a veteran of state, film and television for more than 60 years, began his Albuquerque stage career in 1948. He also taught drama at St. Mary’s High School and served as Master of Ceremonies for Albuquerque’s 250th anniversary.

When they married, Jo and Victor formed the Podium Players and began writing and producing plays about historical figures. Bound for Canaan, a play Victor wrote about runaway-slave-turned-abolitionist Frederick Douglass, toured the university circuit. Its success led the couple to write, produce and direct more historical plays and use them as teaching tools. Their History Live has since reached schools and churches throughout New

Mexico free of charge. They have continued to bring their historical plays to rural New Mexico, even long after running out of grant money. The Izays raised $10,000 for Rio Rancho High School Performance Art Center. “I don’t look at theater or volunteering as work, it’s just something that has to be done,” Jo says. Theater, she adds, can be more effective than traditional teaching methods because it engages the audience: “You dress an actor in all his glory and, honey, the kids pay attention.”

Victor’s specialty is coaching budding actors and even calming them before performances. Jo prefers writing; she penned her first play, Patricio, El Penitente, in 1986. They stay active with several local organizations, including Goodwill Industries, KNME-TV and El Paisano, a Spanish-speaking International Toastmaster Club in Albuquerque.

2006

Jewel Hall

Jewel Hall, a retired teacher of math and science who is a co-founder and the president of the Dr. Martin Luther King Multicultural Council, offers a statement of principles that have guided her life of community service: “Speak the truth with courage, speak with reason, and speak with compassion.”

Hall, 74, was born in Louisiana. She acquired her commitment to volunteer work from her grandfather, whom she visited at least once or twice a week. He always asked what she was learning in school. After she’d told him, he would always ask: “And what are you doing to help others?”

She has done a lot including being the founding chairperson of the Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute’s Emeritus Academy Advisory Committee. She’s been president of the Rio Rancho Chapter of the NAACP. She was a member of the first Rio Rancho School Board, a vice president for legislation of the New Mexico Association of the Educational Retirees, president of the Albuquerque Teachers Federation and a co-founder of the Albuquerque Christian Leadership Conference. She’s also worked extensively with the AARP in New Mexico, including chairing its education committee and being a strategist on consumer fraud issues.

“I enjoy putting my time, skills and experience to good use,” she says. She tells the story of an old man planting a walnut tree, which takes a long time to grow. When asked why he would bother to do so, the man replies: “I’ve been eating walnuts all my life. With this tree, others can eat walnuts after I’m gone.”

“Volunteering,” Hall says, “gives me an opportunity to give something back. My grandfather is gone for over 30 years, but the impact he left with me is still here. Somebody secured the future for us, and we should help secure the future for those who come after us.”

Offering a sort of report card on herself, Hall says that she’s “received excellent ratings” in: Works well with others, has a pleasing personality and smiles easily, orates well, and accepts responsibility with enthusiasm.”

H.B. Horn

H.B Horn, was born in Kentucky and arrived in Albuquerque by train in 1921 when his family moved here.

After graduating from Albuquerque High School in 1934, he went into business for himself in 1939 as the owner of a single gas station in Albuquerque’s South Valley that he grew into the Horn Oil Company. It became New Mexico’s biggest independent oil company before he sold it in 1977.

Horn has been a member of Albuquerque’s First Baptist Church at Broadway and Central Avenue for 80 years and has served the church in many ways.

He and his wife Lucille – who has had Alzheimer’s disease for 10 years – have been supportersof such organizations as Musical Theatre Southwest, the Wheels Museum, the YMCA of Albuquerque, Rotary International, and the Explora Science Center and Children’s Museum.

“I have been director of the Chamber of Commerce, foreman of a federal grand jury, director of the Community Chest board, chairman of the Urban Renewal board, president of the Petroleum Club, a founding me

mber of the University of New Mexico Foundation board. I’ve been named a Kentucky Colonel and a New Mexico Colonel,” Horn says.

He’s also been active in Toastmasters International, an organization that he says helps people “not only learn to speak, but also learn how to listen to other people and respect their opinions.”

As a board member of the YMCA, he helped it acquire the land for the Camp Shaver summer camp in the Jemez and last year he made a million-dollar commitment to the Y. He also helped establish a daycare center at First Baptist Church.

Horn has also been active in the New Mexico Ballut Abyad Shrine – as potentate in 1977 – and he’s served on the board of governors for the Shrine Hospital for Crippled Children in Los Angeles.

“I liked being on boards, meeting and getting to know people. And I’m still active. It’s just good therapy. Good stress, not bad stress.

I have given up to 30 percent of my income. It’s what the law allows, and I’d rather do that than give it to the government. I don’t know why more people don’t take advantage of what’s legal. I enjoy giving.”

Art Schreiber

“My father was a Presbyterian country preacher outside of East Liverpool, Ohio,” says Art Schreiber. “Dad always preached to me, you owe

something to your fellow man and to your community.”

Schreiber, 78, arrived in Albuquerque in 1981. One morning soon after coming to Albuquerque, he says, “I woke up blind.” He’d already lost the sight of one eye, and despite 16 operations over a seven-month period, it proved to be impossible to save his remaining vision.

When he returning to Albuquerque after all of those operations had failed, Hubbard named him general manager of KOB-FM as well as KOB-AM.

“When I went blind, I learned that so many believe blindness is the end of the world – and of course it isn’t. I really have devoted the rest of my life to helping those who are going blind or who are blind.”

As president-elect of the Rio Grande chapter of the Blinded Veterans Association, Schreiber is now especially angry at the Bush administration’s budget cuts both in the disability community and for veterans. “With whatever breath I’ve got left I’m going to fight like hell against the Bush administration for what they’ve done to the disability community and to the veterans,” he says. “The Bush administration has closed services for the blind nationally – all 10 regional offices of the Rehabilitation Services Administration – and they’ve cut the veterans budget terribly.”

Schreiber has been chairman of the New Mexico Commission for the Blind, and he’s one of the leaders of the National Federation of the Blind of New Mexico.

The American Lung Association’s National Gold Medallion for Humanitarianism Award is on of the many honors he’s been awarded.

Schreiber still broadcasts regularly – from 8 to 10 every Sunday morning on KKJY-AM – “the nostalgia station,” he calls it – 1550 on the radio dial. “One hour is devoted to senior issues and the other to disability issues,” he says.

Tooker Walton

Tooker Walton, 83, was born in Jackson, Miss. She moved to Albuquerque with her husband in 1968, after he’d retired from the Army.

“When I first came, I volunteered at the Indian Hospital as a “gray lady,” she says. “In 1970 I started with the thrift shop,” she added.

That’s the St. John’s Thrift Shop, now at 1406 Central S.W., which is operated by the St. Martha’s Guild of St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral. “Everything is clean and lovely,” Walton says.

She worked for years at the shop as a full-time volunteer and is still the shop’s treasurer, although she’s cut back on her hours because of vision problems caused by macular degeneration. “But until January, I was still working at the shop on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and I still do the books.”

The shop operates entirely on volunteer help and donations. With her Army-wife experience of running a thrift shop in France (with additional prior volunteer time as an active member of the Red Cross and president of an officer’s wives’ club), she helped increase the St. John’s Thrift Shop annual net income tenfold within two years.

Now, it provides about $2,000 a month to the cathedral and about $10,000 a year to local charities and non-profit organizations serving the needy.

“Today, it’s very difficult to get volunteers,” she says. “Most young women are gainfully employed to maintain their livelihood. And usually even much older people, not required to retire, are working longer now than in the earlier days.”

The shop’s oldest volunteer is a woman of 103, Walton says, and the youngest volunteer if just 13 years old. Walton has also been an active member of the League of Women Voters for 40 years and belongs to a book club, itself more than 100 years old, that meets twice a month.

Walton’s actual first name is Dorothy. But she’s been Tooker to everyone ever since she was a little girl and a baby sister called her that.

The St. John’s Thrift Shop (phone: 242-6751) is open Wednesdays through Saturdays, from 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM.

2005

Carolyn Hong Chan

Carolyn Hong Chan has been a volunteer for over 40 years in optometry and health care and has played a prominent role in the Chinese American community in New Mexico.

She has been active with the New Mexico Optometric Association Auxiliary and was president of the 7,600 member Auxiliary to the American Optometric Association. During that time she chaired a committee which developed a multi-media program to educate health care workers and the public about vision and hearing losses in older Americans. Nineteen states implemented this program. While serving on the Board of Directors for the American Optometric Association’s Political Action Committee, she played an instrumental role in lobbying for inclusion of optometric vision services in Medicare.

While working as a teacher in the Albuquerque public school system, she fostered multi-cultural understanding by integrating Chinese American culture with New Mexico.

She has served as president of the Albuquerque Chinese School, and she and her husband were founding members of the Albuquerque Lodge of Chinese American Citizens Alliance. She served as a national board member of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance and is currently spearheading the organization’s collection of oral histories of Chinese American Veterans for the Library of Congress’ Veterans’ History Project.

Carolyn was a member of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History’s Foundation Board of Directors, serving as President in 1995.

In 2001, Carolyn was one of twenty-five New Mexico women cited in the Congressional Record for their public service.

Mary Lou Edward

For half a century, Mary Lou Edward has lent her vision and energy to protecting some of our community’s most vulnerable citizens, our children. In 1999, when she was recognized with the Children’s Champion Award from All Faith’s Receiving Home, she said, “I do it because I think kids deserve the best, and there are a lot of children that come from families without love, nurturing and stability.”

All Faith’s Receiving Home was one of Mary Lou’s earliest interests. She was instrumental in the creation of All Faith’s Auxiliary, serving as its first president. She and the committee then, held a recruitment and organizational coffee at which they sold apples from Mary Lou’s trees, and this later led to the annual All Faith’s Auxiliary Apple Festival.

After witnessing the devastation to children born to parents incapable or unwilling to care for them, Mary Lou became involved with citizen committees and organizations focused on child abuse prevention, including the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Child Abuse Council, the Mayor’s Kitchen Cabinet, the Task Force on Services for Children, Youth and Families, and the Coalition for Children.

Mary Lou currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Presbyterian Ear Institute, tutors at Longfellow Elementary School, and is still a fixture at All Faith’s, serving on the Board of the Foundation. She is an Honorary Member of Planned Parenthood of New Mexico.

Mary Lou believes, and never fails to remind people, that all her accomplishments are actually the work of many.

Jerry Geist

Jerry D. Geist is a civic leader and businessman who has b een described as “a ready volunteer who never said no when it came to serving his state or city.”

Jerry’s civic involvement has been extensive. Just a few of his contributions to the community and government include serving as President of the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, United Way, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Institute of Public Law, the Santa Fe Opera and the UNM Foundation. He was a founding trustee of the Albuquerque Community Foundation, and chaired the American Lung Association’s first Gold Medallion Award Dinner.

He was a member of the Albuquerque Charter Revision Commission and the Governor’s State Highway Task Force. He saw a need for an organization where executives could come together to discuss issues and subsequently was instrumental in organizing the Economic Forum. Jerry was a member of the Business Roundtable and a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. At the same time he chaired the Montezuma Castle Restoration effort and he co-chaired New Mexico’s committee for the National Holocaust Museum.

As a businessman, he rose through the ranks at Public Service Company of New Mexico to become President, chairman and CEO, retiring in 1990. During that time, his focus on cooperative relationships between PNM and environmental groups, earned him the name “New Mexico’s Environmental Peacemaker” from Industry Week in May 1982.

Most recently, Jerry served on the Tricentennial committee helping to organize the city’s activities related to the event.

Vincente T Ximenes

Vicente T. Ximenes has worked actively to seek equity and ensure justice for those less fortunate. Among his many accomplishments, he founded the AGI Forum an organization dedicated to eliminating discrimination against Mexican Americans. It was instrumental in the demise of the patronage system in Albuquerque, the formation of the Fair Housing Ordinance in Albuquerque, and the Fair Employment Practices Act in NewMexico.

Vicente became Program Economist for the Agency for International Development, Assistant Inspector General for the War on Poverty, and Deputy Mission Director of the Agency for International Development in Panama. By Presidential appointment, he became a U.S. Commissioner of Equal Employment and Chairman of the White House Committee on Mexican American Affairs. His tenure produced changes in Federal Legislation and regulation that affected the entire nation.

Vincente’s leadership can be credited for affirmative action

programs in federal agencies, the ability for Mexican-American businessmen to obtain business charters for the first time, and changes in the U.S. Census Bureau’s recognition of individuals to self-identify.

Vicente is committed to helping others have the opportunities he has experienced in his life. He began the drive to create the Youth Conservation Corps of New Mexico program, whose funds are used to hire young people 14-25 to work on conservation projects. He served as a member and chairman of the Commission that oversaw the corps’ work.

He has served his country, state and city in an unselfish and compassionate way.

2004

Barbara Allender

Barbara Allender’s motto, “I like a challenge,” is a tribute to the upbeat and positive motivtaion on which she has modeled her life. She has risen to many challenges both in her professional life and in her years of community service as a volunteer.

Barbara is a past President of the League of Women Voters. She was instrumental in the early planning for United Way, and later became United Way’s Director of Community Planning and Resource Distribution, retiring in 1992.

She has continued her volunteer career, and in 2003, was named the Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser for the Association of Fundraising Professionals Philanthropy Day honoring especially her service and efforts as the President of the Samaritan Counseling Center Foundation Board.

Barbara is the past Chairman of the Board for the All Faiths Receiving Home Foundation and currently serves on the Menaul School Board and the Central United Methodist Church Board of Trustees, Staff Parish Committee, the Council on Homeless Ministries and other committees.

Philip Ludi

Philip Ludi’s ‘Living Motto’ is: “Exercise each day, volunteer your services, enjoy a happy marriage and home life, and have a glass of red wine in the evening.” He demonstrates that seniors have a lot to offer and that good health, good health habits and enrichment are always the key to maintain true golden years.

Phillip’s community service includes having served as “Majority Whip” of the New Mexico House of Representatives and Chairman of the Education Committee. He became Assistant State Director of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) where he received a national award for Outstanding Volunteer Services. He was the First New Mexico Housing Coordinator for AARP helping acute housing needs in senior communities, and he received a National Housing Award for his service in the area. As a Secretary/member of the NM Department of Welfare Board, he helped establish nursing homes for the needy in NM. He continues to focus on intergenerational issues of housing, health and safety.

He currently serves on the Lovelace Senior Advisory Group and is the chair of the “Outstanding Senior Community Service Awards” for the New Mexico Conference on Aging.

Kathryn Balling

Many of us have benefited from Kathryn Balling Moore’s 28-year contribution to healthcare in this community.

In 1976, Kathryn began her volunteer career at St. Joseph Hospital as an active member of the Hospital Auxiliary, where her volunteer hours number in the thousands, and she had performed every task assigned to hospital volunteers, worked every fundraising activity, served on many committees, and held all offices. She was responsible for the completion of a $300,000 pledge drive enabling the opening of a new Critical Care Unit for St. Joseph Hospital, and always met 100% of her goals in fundraising including raising a million dollars to benefit patient care and provide educational opportunities.

In 1999, as President of the NM Hospital Association Auxiliary Service, she worked for the interests of the hospital volunteers throughout the state. During her term of office, the association provided over $2 million for patient care equipment, scholarships in the health care profession, research studies and in support of general hospital funds, foundations and membership.

Edward L. Romero

Edward L. Romero’s service and dedication to our community, to our state, and to our country makes him an ideal recipient of the 2004 Outstanding Recognition Award in the Senior Hall of Fame.

A descendant of a family whose ancestors came from Spain to North America in 1598, Edward has worked to gain recognition and respect for Hispanic culture nationwide. He is a founding member of the Albuquerque Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and served on the congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s board of directors. He was named Region 1 Hispanic Businessman of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration in September 1989 and was named National Hispanic Businessman of the Year by the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce that same year. In 1991, he was named in the publication “Hispanic Heroes – Portraits of New Mexicans Who Have Made a Difference,” edited by Rose Diaz and Jan Dodson Barnhart. He is a co-founder of the Hispanic Cultural Foundation and National Hispanic Cultural Center. One of the highlights of his career was his appointment as the United States Ambassador to Spain and Andorra in 1998.

He was the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Advanced Science, Inc., which later merged with Commodore Applied Technologies, Inc. and is also a founder of Valor Telecommunications Southwest, LLC and RTM International.

2003

Max Flatow

Max Flatow has helped shape the architectural design environment of our city through his designs of the Civic Plaza, the original Convention Center, the Simms Building, the Marriott Hotel, the education complex, the bell/tower and fountain, the School of Nursing and the Humanities Building on the University of New Mexico campus. He continues his efforts to improve the quality of life in Albuquerque by recently working closely with Senator Pete Domenici to remove unsightly jetty jacks from the bosque. Mr. Flatow records nature through his watercolors and teaches watercolor techniques to other seniors, as well as participating in other volunteer projects through the Jewish community. (2003)

Catherine Higgins

A native of Gallup, New Mexico, Catherine Higgins is the President of the Chaparral Electric Company, which received the 1999 Ethics in Business award from the Samaritan Counseling Center.

She is noted for her role in the development and implementation of a revolutionary computer system for the Albuquerque Public Schools library program which was hailed as a national model.

She has been very involved with United Way for many years. In 2002, her campaign was so successful that Chaparral was one of the few companies in the area with 100% participation as well as a company match of every employee’s donation dollar for dollar.

Ms. Higgins is active in the volunteer community assisting with the poor and elderly disaster relief fund, and she has tutored elementary school children in English as a second language.

She also gives generously to numerous organizations such as Silver Horizons, Senior Outlook, Boy Scouts of America, MADD, Special Olympics and Accion.

John Donald Robb

John Donald Robb, is the Chairman and founder of New Mexico Christian Legal Aid, Inc. which trains and provides 50 volunteer lawyers to poverty clients in Albuquerque. He was the first President and long-time Board member of the Law and Poverty Center, an advocacy group for the poor and homeless.

He has been instrumental in providing counsel, advice and legal help to the impoverished through organizations such as Joy Junction, the Albuquerque Rescue Mission and Noon Day Ministries.

John was honored in 1999 for his work in creating the National Legal Aid Society and for his work with the Albuquerque Legal Aid Society.

Mr. Robb and his family donated and endowed the John Donald Robb Archive of Southwestern Music at UNM, a project to preserve and protect Southwestern recordings and sheet music for future generations.

Fred Wilson

Fred Wilson has a primary goal – “to teach the art of loving art.” He is an established woodcarver, stone carver, painter, mask maker, potter, sculptor, writer and poet. During his 28 years in Albuquerque, he has helped promote the inclusion of fine black artists into the New Mexico artistic community.

He has won numerous awards, appeared in publications and on television shows such as the Dinah Shore Show and the Steve Allen Show, and served on many boards.

He is currently in his fourth term as President of the New Mexico African American Artists’ Guild. His works are included in the collections at the State Capitol of NM and the UNM African American Art Gallery. He believes that everyone deserves to enjoy art, whether they can afford it or not, and to this end, he donates two or three pieces each month to social and political causes.